BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
La Joya High hosted Edcouch-Elsa in a non-district tilt on Nov. 28.
Early in the first half, La Joya senior guard Alexis Tovar went to the ground with an injury.
Tovar did not return to the game, having suffered a torn ACL that would keep him out for the rest of the season.
“You just feel bad for the kid,” La Joya coach Eric Montalvo said. “It’s his senior year, and we were expecting a lot of good things from him. But it’s just something that we preach as a program that everyone has to be ready to go.”
Tovar played in only eight games, and during that time he averaged 8.3 points, 3.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. His production wasn’t easy to replace, and the Coyotes couldn’t do so with just one player.
Senior Ojay Saenz moved from shooting guard to point guard, and sophomore Jesus Huerta has also filled in at point.
“A lot of it is just point guard by committee,” Montalvo said. “It just depends on the situation. We will get different kids in there to run the point depending on what’s happening on the floor.”
Despite the loss, the Coyotes (10-15, 1-1) remain hungry to compete in a cutthroat District 30-6A.
“30-6A is always tough,” Montalvo said. “You have the three McAllen schools that are always tough, and Juarez-Lincoln is playing well right now. They are a veteran group. I told the kids, ‘Every game is a big game right now. Once you get to district play, every game counts.’”
For the Coyotes this season, much of the spark on offense has come from senior Juztin Pulido and junior Carlos Montelongo. Pulido is averaging 15.8 points per game, with Montelongo at 12.0 through Tuesday’s game.
“Juztin is one of our returning starters, and Carlos was our little spark plug off the bench last year,” Montalvo said. “This year, Carlos stepped into a bigger role, and we have been asking for him to score more, but the one thing about Carlos is that we like his defensive intensity and his speed and quickness on the defensive side, so that helps us a lot.”
Montalvo said Alex Villarreal has also been a big factor on the inside for the Coyotes. Villarreal leads the team with 5.1 rebounds per game and is also contributing 8.3 points per game.